Page 15 of Charlie Beck Says I'm His

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours, buddy, okay? Mama needs to go see the doctor and make sure little Nugget is doing good.”

Bandit sat in front of me and placed his paw on my knee with his ears laid back.

“I fluffed up your pillow, and there is a brand-new toy hidden somewhere for you,” I informed him.

Bandit’s ears perked up at the mention of the word toy.

Today was my second doctor’s appointment, and I was nervous as heck about it. Not only was I going by myself, but I also had to drive over an hour to the doctor because there was no way in heck I could go to the clinic in Adams without everyone knowing I walked through the door, let alone that I was pregnant.

Midge and Britt both worked at the clinic, and there was a one hundred percent chance they would be my nurses for the visit. Midge and Britt were the Flo and Del of my generation.

Flo and Del were the oldest living residents of Adams that knew everything that went on in the town. Midge and Britt were their main source of information. If Flo and Del ever kicked the bucket, Midge and Britt would take over the town gossip seamlessly.

So, that was why I had to go to a doctor an hour away to keep the fact that a little Nugget was cooking in my stomach under wraps.

“Bye, my handsome boy.” I pressed a kiss in between Bandit’s eyes, and he leaned into me. “Love you.”

I grabbed my keys off the hook by the door and looped my purse over my shoulder.

I made the hour-long drive to the hospital and headed to the third floor, where my doctor’s office was.

There was something about being able to walk into a place and not knowing everyone. Don’t get me wrong, I loved living in Adams, but it was near impossible to actually keep a secret from anyone.

I was really surprised I had been able to keep baby Nugget under wraps for so long, but I knew that my little secret was going to become public knowledge pretty soon if my stomach had another growth spurt overnight.

“Hi, I have an appointment with Dr. McGee.”

The receptionist looked at me. “Name?”

“Missy Clark.”

She typed on her keyboard and grabbed a clipboard. “Go ahead and fill this out, and a nurse will be out for you shortly.”

I grabbed the clipboard and snatched a pen off the desk. I sat in a chair close to the coat closet and tucked in to fill out the form.

“Missy Clark?”

I was only halfway through the form when they called my name, and I headed to the scale where they weighed me.

I covered my eyes and cringed. “I don’t think I want to know what that number says.”

The nurse laughed. “Trust me, honey, I’m not into taking your weight either, but it is a good thing to keep an eye on during your pregnancy.”

“Done?” I asked. I really didn’t want to know my weight. That was a number I was more than okay with being a mystery.

“All done, hon,” she laughed.

I opened my eyes and stepped off the scale. “Is it okay?” I didn’t want to know the number, but I needed to know that I wasn’t a beluga whale.

“Right where you should be. You’ve gained two pounds since your last visit.”

“Is that good?”

The nurse glanced at me. “First pregnancy?” she asked.

“Uh, you can tell?”

She nodded and stopped in front of one of the rooms. “Yes, but you’re fine. Daddy couldn’t make it today?”

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